Written by: Samantha Burgess, editor in chief
Disclaimer: These are the numbers as of 12 p.m. on April 2. For a look at the live numbers click here.
United States—The novel coronavirus has resulted in 50,245 deaths worldwide, 5,332 of which were in the United States. This tragic loss of lives has left many fearful of the overall outcome of COVID-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading White House coronavirus task force member and infectious disease expert, has projected that COVID-19 will likely result in 100,000-200,000 deaths. This is a middle-ground estimate as Dr. Fauci stated that the worst-case scenario would be upwards of a million deaths.
A lower prediction was made by researchers at the University of Wahington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), who forecasted an overall total of 80,000-93,000 COVID-19 deaths. They project that deaths will peak throughout April and then drop down to less than 10 a day by the start of June.
On Sunday, March 30 President Donald Trump announced that he would be extending the current social distancing guidelines until April 30, in order to help flatten the curve and keep the death toll below Dr. Fauci’s projected 100,000.
“The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end,” said Trump during the White House briefing.
During the briefing Trump also said the death rate of COVID-19 will likely peak in the next two weeks and that he expects the country to be well on the way to recovery by the first week of June.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, echoed both Dr. Fauci and IHME during the White House briefing on March 31, 2020 by stating that modeling shows that between 80,000 to 200,000 Americans may die from the coronavirus, despite mitigation.
A majority of those who die from COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health issue such as a compromised immune system. However, some deaths have been due to a lack of proper medical supplies and test results coming back too late.
In response to concerns about testing and medical equipment, Trump also announced in Sunday’s briefing that the Food and Drug Administration approved a new test on Friday that will deliver coronavirus results in as soon as five minutes and he said the U.S. would start delivering 50,000 tests daily this week.
Trump added that new treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine along with the Z-pack, are being administered to patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus, including 1,100 people in New York.
Both the Washington Post and Vox expressed their concerns about an unequal distribution of medical supplies. Several medical staff across the country have also taken to Twitter to express their concerns.
Trump, however, highlighted the importance of sending necessary medical supplies to the hardest hit States first.
In a White House briefing on March 31, Trump said, “FEMA and HHS already delivered 11.6 million N95 respirators, 26 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns, and 22 million gloves.”
Trump hopes to eventually have enough supplies to not only fulfill the needs of the U.S. but other hard-hitting countries as well.
Samantha Burgess is a senior communication major with an emphasis in digital media and is editor in chief for the Triangle. Her interests in writing include profiles and feature articles. Burgess can often be found curled up with a good book, writing, listening to music or watching Netflix.
